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:"The Holy Fathers (probably unanimously) certainly have no doubt that the chronology of the [[Old Testament]], from [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] onwards, is to be accepted "literally." They did not have the fundamentalist's over-concern for chronological ''precision'', but even the most mystical Fathers ([[Isaac of Syria|St. Isaac the Syrian]], [[Gregory Palamas|St. Gregory Palamas]], etc.) were quite certain that Adam lived literally some 900 years, that there were some 5,500 years ("more or less") between the creation and the [[Incarnation|Birth of Christ]]."<ref>Fr. [[Seraphim Rose]]. ''GENESIS, CREATION and EARLY MAN: The Orthodox Christian Vision''. St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, Platina, CA, 2000. pp.539-540.</ref>
It is interesting to note that the traditional Jewish understanding of the creation "days" of Genesis is that they are also literal, as virtually all the Rabbis had understood in commentaries from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic sources.<ref>Paul James-Griffiths. ''[http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v26/i2/tradition.asp Creation days and Orthodox Jewish Tradition]''. AnswersinGenesis.org. March 2004.</ref>
Currently the two dominant dates for creation that exist using the Biblical model, are about 5500 BC and about 4000 BC. These are calculated from the genealogies in two versions of the Bible, with most of the difference arising from two versions of [[Genesis]]. The older dates in the ''Byzantine Creation Era'' are based on the Greek [[Septuagint]]. The later dates of Archbishop [[w:James Ussher|James Ussher]] are based on the Hebrew Masoretic text.